Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru – Terminal 2

This project was selected as a Honor winner in ARCHITECT's 2024 Architecture & Interiors Awards, Architecture: Government and Civic Building category.

“There’s something sort of joyful and fantastical about it. I think it has an appeal to a lot of different people as you're passing through—it feels warm and welcoming and comfortable, bringing respite to the potentially stressful situation of travel.” –Juror Brooke Horan

Reimagining the airport experience, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the new Terminal 2 at Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru in India to be a calming oasis for travelers amid the typical bustle of airport activity as well as a nod to Bengaluru’s reputation as the “garden city.” The complex thus takes biophilic design to a whole new level, comprising abundantly glazed interconnected buildings tied together by distinct interior and exterior landscaped spaces, developed in collaboration with landscape architect Grant Associates, ranging from massive living walls and meandering paths to gardens of hanging planters. Meanwhile, indoor waterfalls within the retail portion of the terminal have dual purpose, cooling the indoor temperature and referencing the mountains, boulders, and waterways of Karnataka, the Indian state in which the airport is located.

Central to the design is the use of cross-laid engineered bamboo, which forms soaring latticework ceilings, conceals structural columns, and clads the terminal’s two-story pavilions. Bringing a lightness to the terminal’s volumes alongside the ample glazing, the bamboo alludes to traditional Indian cane, as do custom site furnishings throughout that are clad in woven rattan.

To achieve sustainability, the architect aimed for structural efficiency, economy, and adaptability, employing local construction technology and only domestically produced materials such as ivory brown granite, umber red brick, and the aforementioned traditionally woven rattan. The plan utilizes a consistent grid of structural columns for this reason as well, keeping the design flexible to accommodate updates in the future as the air-travel industry changes. Other sustainable touches include extensive solar shading, use of renewable energy, and rainwater harvested onsite for all the plantings. In addition to receiving IGBC (Indian Green Building Council) Platinum certification, T2 is the largest terminal in the world to have been pre-certified LEED Platinum by the USGBC.

PROJECT CREDITS:Project: Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru – Terminal 2
Location: Bengaluru, India
Client/Owner: Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL)

Architect:
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Roger Duffy, FAIA, Former Design Partner
Colin Koop, AIA, Design Partner
Laura Ettelman, FAIA, Managing Partner
Peter Lefkovits, AIA, Design Principal
Derek A.R. Moore, AIA, PhD, Design Principal, Airports Practice Leader
Jason Anderson, AIA, Senior Associate Principal, Project Manager
Christoph Timm, AIA, Technical Design Principal
Seok Yoon, AIA, Associate Principal
Jordan Pierce, AIA, Associate Principal
Elizabeth Sennott, AIA, Associate Principal, Technical
William Emenecker, Senior Planner
Tamicka Marcy, AIA, Associate, Technical
Xialu (Lulu) Xu, AIA, NCARB, Associate, Technical
Nick Winter, Senior Designer
Preetam Biswas, PE, LEED, Structural Engineering Principal
Charles Besjak, FAIA, SE, PE, LEED, Structural Engineering Principal
Georgi Petrov, PE, AIA, LEED, Senior Associate Principal, Structural Engineering
Alex Jordan, PE, AIA, Associate, Structural Engineering
Stanley King, PE, Associate, Structural Engineering
Ece Calguner Erzan, IIDA, NCIDQ, Interior Design Principal
Lauren Kosson, IIDA, LEED AP, Associate, Interiors

Construction Start Date: 2019
Construction End Date: 2023

Interior Designer: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Mechanical Engineer: ARUP
Structural Engineer: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Electrical Engineer: ARUP
General Contractor: Larsen & Toubro
Landscape Architect: Grant Associates
Lighting Designer: Brandston Partnership Inc.

Other Consultants:
Design Consultant: Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla (AJSK)
MEPF Engineer (Multi-Modal Transit Hub): Buro Happold
Baggage Consultant: BNP Associates
LCA/LCE/Landside Infrastructure/External Utilities: STUP Consultants Pvt Ltd
IT/Security/PA/FAS: Mulvey & Banani International Inc. (MBII)
Signage & Wayfinding: Merson Group (MSD)
Airside Consultant: Ch2m Hill
VHT (T2): H.H. Angus & Associates
VHT (Multi-Modal Transit Hub): Lerch Bates
Code Consultant: CCI
Retail Consultant: Pragma

Size in Square Feet: 2.7 million square feet
Cost:

MATERIALS AND SOURCES:
Engineered Bamboo: Moso International BV and Lindner
Interior Brick: Locally made bricks by Larsen & Toubro (L&T)
Brick, Metal, and Glass Curtain Wall: Geotrix Building Envelope Ptv Ltd
Stone Flooring: Local granite (& Installation contractors under L&T were Rocks & Logs and INDIA Stones)
Rattan at Millwork: Sreej & Rachana Art
Custom Light Fixtures (in gate lounges): Rachana Art + Regent (Switzerland) (https://www.regent.ch/en/locations/switzerland/)
Sliding Door System (at entrances): Dorma
Roofing: KALZIP
Elevators/escalators: Otis